The present invention relates to a vehicle suspension and more particularly, to a shock tower.
A typical vehicle suspension system includes a collection of springs, dampers, bushings, rods, links and arms which are used between each wheel and the car body or frame. The particular suspension system chosen for a vehicle plays an important role in providing specifically selected handling characteristics and in isolating the vehicle's body from road disturbances.
Two common types of independent suspensions include the turnable strut type and the short-long arm type (SLA), also known as a double-wishbone type. The type of suspension used in a particular vehicle depends on the suspension design criteria, which are determined based on various performance requirements such as packaging space availability, the selected level of handling and the amount of road isolation to be provided. Other significant issues in selecting the type of suspension used on a vehicle are the cost and the ease of assembling the suspension system. All of the above factors tend to drive the type of suspension which is chosen for use in a particular vehicle.
Typical vehicle bodies have a specific shock tower assembly for each type of suspension. A preference has been identified to provide the ability to assemble individual vehicles within a car line with either a turnable strut-type suspension or an SLA-type suspension. A conventional method of providing such flexibility is to use individualized shock tower assemblies for installation in the vehicle body to receive a specific type of suspension. These suspension options give rise to complicated packaging situations as well as increased investment and labor costs. Therefore, a means of addressing these drawbacks is desirable.